Noting that the human rights violations remain widespread in Pakistan, the European Commission’s first assessment report on the impact of GSP Plus scheme calls upon to show concrete improvements on implementing the 27th international conventions relating to human rights, labour rights, environment and good governance.
The EU report impacts the special incentive arrangements for sustainable development and good governance (GSP Plus) covering the period 2014-15. The report will form the basis for continuation of GSP Plus scheme till 2023. The GSP Plus scheme became operational from January 01, 2014.
The report notes with concern that human rights violations remain widespread despite some of the government’s initiatives. The grave human rights violations including extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and failure to protect minorities continue to occur. The Pakistani authorities should make significant efforts to comply with their international obligations, it noted.
The fight against terrorism has created new human rights challenges that need to be urgently addressed. Respecting, protecting and promoting human rights can be an effective tool, in the medium term, to address root causes of militant extremism.
The selective transfer of civilian cases to military courts without clear criteria, without information about the procedures, and with non-transparent court hearings, is another serious source of concern, notably with respect to the obligation to provide fair trial to the accused.
The over 300 executions carried out since the lifting of the moratorium, raise questions concerning likely violations of the international conventions with respect to executions of juvenile defenders, denial of fair trial, and the systematic use of torture.
However, it says that for the first time Pakistan has made commendable efforts to submit all due reports to the monitoring bodies of UN human rights conventions.
A cross-cutting issue, not restricted to human rights, is the poor implementation and enforcement of legal safeguards provided for in the constitution and in domestic legislation. Some progress has been made in strengthening the institutional framework. Pakistan has announced that a national action plan on human rights has been drafted and is awaiting approval by the prime minister. The National Commission for Human Rights was established in May 2015. A commission on the status of women was established in 2000, but it is still seriously under-funded. A proposal for the establishment of a commission on the rights of the child is still under discussion. The EU remains willing to offer technical assistance to support such institutions.
Pakistan ranks third in the world on the 2014 Modern Slavery Index. Bonded labour is common in various sectors of the economy, most notably agriculture and brick kilns besides carpet weaving, fisheries, mining and some other sectors. Geographically speaking, the most widespread problems are found in the southern Sindh and Punjab, but anecdotal evidence suggests that bonded labour exists in all four provinces. There are currently no reliable statistics on the number of bonded labourers.
Pakistani provinces are working to adopt provincial legislation to abolish child labour which remains considerable across the country. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has adopted a law on elimination of child labour and allocated funds to improve labour inspections. Legislative action is still pending in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Similarly, the provinces have made progress on tackling bonded labour which remains widespread. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has passed an act prohibiting slavery and debt bondage.
The report says that the EU imports from Pakistan amounted to Euro 5.5 billion in 2014, an increase of 22 per cent compared to 2013. Over 70 per cent of EU imports from Pakistan are textiles and clothing. The EU preferential imports of textiles and clothing from Pakistan increased substantially in 2014, 82 per cent compared to 2013 up from Euro 2 billion in 2013 to Euro 3.7 billion in 2014. The EU preferential imports of footwear also increased by 121 per cent.